1997 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

1997 South Carolina Gamecocks football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Record	5–6 (3–5 SEC)
Head coach	Brad Scott (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	John Eason (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Fast Break
Defensive coordinator	Wally Burnham (4th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Williams-Brice Stadium
Seasons ←  1996 1998  →

1997 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 7 Tennessee x$		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 10 Georgia		6	–	2					10	–	2
No. 4 Florida		6	–	2					10	–	2
South Carolina		3	–	5					5	–	6
Kentucky		2	–	6					5	–	6
Vanderbilt		0	–	8					3	–	8
Western Division
No. 11 Auburn xy		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 13 LSU x		6	–	2					9	–	3
No. 22 Ole Miss		4	–	4					8	–	4
Mississippi State		4	–	4					7	–	4
Arkansas		2	–	6					4	–	7
Alabama		2	–	6					4	–	7
Championship: Tennessee 30, Auburn 29
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Gamecocks were led by head coach Brad Scott and played their home games in Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

In 1997, South Carolina finished with a final record of 5–6, the first of three consecutive losing seasons ending the 1990s. ^{[1] [2]}

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	7:00 p.m.	UCF *	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	FSS	W 33–31	81,908	[3]
September 13	3:30 p.m.	at No. 25 Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	CBS	L 15–31	86,117	[4]
September 20	3:00 p.m.	at East Carolina *	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	FSS	W 26–0	38,902	[5]
September 27	12:30 p.m.	at Mississippi State	Scott Field Starkville, MS	JPS	L 17–37	30,120	[6]
October 4	12:30 p.m.	No. 9 Auburn	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS	L 6–23	79,411	[7]
October 11	12:30 p.m.	Kentucky	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS	W 38–24	75,936	[8]
October 18	7:00 p.m.	at Arkansas	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		W 39–13	49,178	[9]
October 25	7:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		W 35–3	79,014	[10]
November 1	12:30 p.m.	at No. 8 Tennessee	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	JPS	L 7–22	106,301	[11]
November 15	12:30 p.m.	No. 12 Florida	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS	L 21–48	80,072	[12]
November 22	6:00 p.m.	Clemson *	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 21–47	83,700	[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[14]

Roster

1997 South Carolina Gamecocks football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense 74 Kevin Rolack OL 6-3 302 Jr. HS Saint George, S.C. (St.George) 78 Travis Whitfield OG 6-4 293 Sr./RS 3VL Honea-Path, S.C. (Belton-Honea Path) Pos. # Name Class QB 1 Anthony Wright Jr RB 4 Boo Williams So WR 8 Ben Fleming  So WR 9 Kerry Hood  So WR 10 Carlos Spikes Fr FB 11 Jacob Bush So QB 14 Phil Petty Fr QB 16 Joey Unitas Sr QB 17 Victor Penn  Fr QB 18 Kevin Sides Jr RB 19 Troy Hambrick So WR 21 Zola Davis  Jr RB 22 Ryght Jordan Fr C 53 Paul Beckwith Sr G 63 Ed Hrubiec  Sr OL 64 Taylor Irvin Fr OL 65 Philip Jones Fr OL 67 Jesse Washington  Sr OT 68 Reggie Baker Sr OL 69 Todd Davis Fr OT 70 Andray Spearman  Jr OL 71 Kevin Rivers Fr OL 72 Melvin Paige Fr OL 73 Jason Thomas  So OL 75 Adam Buckley Fr OL 77 Jim Pietrzak  Fr OT 79 Jamar Nesbit Jr WR 80 Donovan Norman So TE 81 Rod Trafford Fr WR 82 Calvin Owens  Sr WR 83 Tyrance Williams  Fr WR 84 Jermale Kelly  Fr WR 85 Shah Mays  Jr TE 86 Trevon Matthews  So	Defense 57 Errol Rochester LB 6-0 245 So./RS 1VL Miami Springs, Fla. (Miami Springs) Pos. # Name Class DB 3 Ray Green  So CB 5 Kevin Brooks Jr SS 6 Ben Washington Sr FS 12 Arturo Freeman Jr DB 20 Willie Offord Fr LB 42 Darren Hambrick Sr DE 55 Selvesta Miller  Sr LB 58 Corey Atkins  So LB 45 James McDougald Sr DT 90 Henry Taylor Sr DL 91 John Stamper Fr LB 92 Ryan Koop Sr DT 93 Michael Maddox  Sr DE 94 Matt Marsters So DE 95 John Abraham So DT 96 Cecil Caldwell So DT 97 Trey Pennington So DT 98 Rachad Wilson Jr DE 99 Anthony Overstreet  Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P/K 7 Courtney Leavitt So K 15 Steve Florio Jr	Head coach Brad Scott Coordinators/assistant coaches Oliver Pough (Running backs coach) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 1998-01-28

References

1. "1997 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
2. "South Carolina Gamecocks College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
3. "Gamecocks overcome Golden Knights 33–31". The Index-Journal. September 7, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "USC whipped between the hedges". The Herald. September 14, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Gamecocks even a score with punchless Pirates". The News and Observer. September 21, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Gamecocks can't run, can't hide". The Charlotte Observer. September 28, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Craig-led Auburn shuts door on Gamecocks, 23–6". The Courier-Journal. October 5, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "USC gets it Wright; Slow start belies strong showing in 38–24 victory". The State. October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Gamecocks march forward with victory over Arkansas". The Greenville News. October 19, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Turnovers end hope of upset". The Tennessean. October 26, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Vols back in control". The Jackson Sun. November 2, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Florida pulls away from Gamecocks". The Times and Democrat. November 16, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Clemson bowls over USC". The Times and Democrat. November 23, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
14. "College Football Data Warehouse". Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.